There is a sense of familiarity walking into a Shangri-la Hotel in any parts of the world – the grand lobby, spacious high ceiling lounge and thoughtfully-designed ballrooms and function areas. Its hotel located in Makati, Manila is no different. The Shangri-la Hotel Makati is well located in the bustling commercial and retail district of Manila. Major shopping malls such as the Greenbelt and Glorietta are just walking distance from the hotel.

On the day of this review, the hotel was very busy with events and setups – from weddings to conferences and seminars. It was good that some of the ballrooms were located in different parts and levels of the hotel ensuring more privacy for each event. The main Rizal Ballroom located on the second level has fair ceiling height of 5.7m. The ballroom can accommodate 800 guests but can be partitioned into 2 or 3 rooms for smaller events. There is a fairly spacious pre-function area for cocktail reception or tea breaks. The second largest function room – the Isabela Ballroom – situated on the lower lobby level can take up to 230 guests in classroom-style. As it has lower ceiling of about 4m and some pillars, it is therefore, more suitable for seminars or more intimate parties. The Isabela Ballroom can similarly be subdivided into 3 smaller rooms for workshops. On the first and third levels are a series of boardrooms and function rooms for meeting sizes of up to 120 guests.

While its meeting facilities cannot be faulted, the only setback in this hotel is that there is a lack of interesting areas for social functions. The Sage bar is perhaps a more casual lounge for evening social functions.

The Shangri-la Hotel group operates a total of 6 hotels and resorts in the Philippines, including 1 in Boracay and 1 in Cebu, 3 in Manila (Makati, Edsa and Hotel Jen), as well as the upcoming new Shangri-la at the Fort in Manila.  The new hotel at the Fort is expected to come with more modern interior design to cater to changing customer expectations. With the opening of the new hotel, Shangri-la Hotel Makati will be going through a major upgrading. Guests can look forward to a refreshing look by then.

For more information, please visit: http://www.shangri-la.com/manila/makatishangrila/